LATEST: Woman Arrested By Bearded Cop Was Suspect In Other Crimes

OfficerBlue

Mar 14, 2018

The woman arrested by a smoking bearded cop had been an unidentified suspect until the video of her arrest went viral.

North Versailles, PA – The woman who recorded a now-viral video of her arrest by a smoking bearded cop is being charged for additional crimes after her video helped police identify her as a previously-unidentified suspect.

Melanie Carter, 35, shot the cellphone video of her arrest on Feb. 24, and posted the footage to her Facebook page on Thursday.

Her newfound fame allowed police to identify her as the suspect in the assault of a bus driver the week before, according to KDKA.

According to police, on Feb. 13 Carter was on a bus using obscene language, which caused annoyance and alarm. The driver asked her to stop, and she refused.

The driver stopped and ordered her off of the bus, and that's when she allegedly assaulted the driver and threw an alcoholic drink in his face. She then allegedly started throwing snow at the bus.

The police were called, but were unable to locate or identify a suspect.

After video of her arrest went viral a week later, police were able to recognize her by her facial piercings and tattoo.

Now, in addition to charges from her initial arrest, she will be charged for the bus incident, according to KDKA. Her new charges include disorderly conduct, harassment, public drunkenness, and interference with transportation facilities.

The video of her Feb. 24 arrest at a movie theater went viral on Thursday.

The video struck people as bizarre, because the bearded officer is smoking and wearing a patch that says "stupid allergy," leaving some people to speculate if he is a real police officer; he is.

The incident unfolded outside Phoenix Theaters, after a manager authorized the removal of several patrons who were causing a disturbance, WTAE reported.

Police said that the girls had already been told to leave once, but that they had returned, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

North Versailles Police Department Officer Christopher Kelly, who was working a security detail at the theater, proceeded to escort the girls out of the business.

“When I pulled up an officer was pushing a young black girl out the door aggressively,” Carter, who was not related to any of the girls, wrote in her post. “I asked the girl what happened and she said she was playing with her friends in the game room when officer Chris Kelly grabbed her from behind escorted her to the door and pushed her outside.”

“The officer then went back inside and made several other black girls leave,” Carter said.

According to Officer Kelly’s report, Carter told him that she was “looking out for” the girls, and he told her not to interfere, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Carter, who had not witnessed the girls inside the theater and did not see their disruptive behavior, told Officer Kelly that they had done nothing wrong, and that he was being racist.

The video showed three girls as they argued with the theater manager.

“Listen, there’s cameras. We watched you guys,” Officer Kelly said as he walked over to the gathering. “You guys have been problems since you got in here.”

He then told everyone to leave.

“See how they treat our kids?” Carter said in the video.

She noted that the manager had called the girls “animals.”

“Yeah, because you’re behaving like an animal,” he responded.

“It’s raining out here, it’s cold out here,” Carter said. “These kids have paid their own money...to come in here, too, and they’re being persecuted.”

Officer Kelly then interrupted, and told Carter that management wanted her off of the premises, and that she needed to leave.

“I paid my money. I’m not going anywhere,” Carter retorted.

Officer Kelly gave her a final warning, then reached for his handcuffs as Carter continued to tell him that she wasn’t going to leave.

“You better not touch me,” she said. “I’m watching this guy.”

Officer Kelly approached Carter to take her into custody, as she began yelling at him to “get off” of her.

In his report, Officer Kelly said that Carter “violently pulled away” from him, and swatted at his hands as he moved towards her with his handcuffs, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

An apparent brief scuffle ensued, and Carter fell onto the ground, screaming that she had done nothing wrong.

She was charged with resisting arrest, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct, and defiant trespass, KDKA reported.

The manager who authorized the girls’ removal from the theater was fired, Phoenix Theaters Entertainment told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

You can watch Carter’s footage of her arrest in the video below:

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Comments (16)

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No. 1-16

BruthaV

Mar 14, 2018

Bearded cop is the like the honey badger -- he don't care. Too bad the wimps at Phoenix Theaters Entertainment didn't stand behind the officer, and the theater manager.

LEO0301

Mar 14, 2018

If you behave like an animal than you should expect to be called one.

Just-My-Thoughts

Mar 14, 2018

Sometimes you have to keep your big mouth shut and do what's asked of you.

JedMarum

Mar 15, 2018

Good Cop! A job well done and the perp filmed all the evidence.

tr823

Mar 15, 2018

This officer is a disgrace to his uniform, dangling that cigarette in that vulgar manner and using unnecessary force against that woman. This is how police state thugs re-acted in East Germany or South Africa during the 70s, they cant take some verbal heat, this is a snowflake cop that should not be trusted with this sacred duty to protect and serve. The woman had every right to speak up, she was not threatening, she was not abusive, she was not acting crazy, it was her right to demand why her children were being called animals, and yes kids do crazy things but they are just kids, so they scream and holler a bit, this gives no right to a cop to do this, I hope he loses his job for the safety of the public. He gives cops a bad name. She should sue.

lol... against an unarmed woman, yeah real tough you sissy. Lets see him go up against a man his size with a similar gun. don't think he would be that blase'

tr823

Mar 15, 2018

This is the problem with cops in the US and I have lived in a lot of countries, American cops think they are judge, jury and executioner. They have a chip on their shoulder, how dare you talk back, don't you know, I got the badge and I can kill you if I want, and they did many times before smartphones became commonplace. I know not all cops are bad, but the few that are need to be called out by the rest, or y'all all stand guilty.

The bitch had no right to interfere with the actions of a police office doing his job. If she was displeased, there are ways to file a formal complaint. Getting in his face and making demands while he is attempting to do his job is going to get anyone arrested.

bluedog_2g2

Mar 15, 2018

This whole situation, again, comes down to the perps "failure to comply" to a lawful order, by the manager and later the police officer, who was enforcing the manager's order. I'm interested in knowing why the manager was terminated. I hope it was for something other than the "flap", created by these females, who failed to comply.